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[A Very Fine Set of the "Civitates Orbis Terrarum"]

BRAUN, Georg & HOGENBERG, Frans.Civitates Orbis Terrarum.Cologne, 1574-1618, French Edition, six volumes bound in three, folio, full contemporary vellum (size each 430 x 310mm)
A complete set of all 6 volumes, bound in three volumes in original vellum bindings. Each book has its own engraved frontispiece and there are 363 city views in total. The "Civitates Orbis Terrarum" is the earliest systematic city atlas and employed such luminaries as Abraham Ortelius who provided much of its material, Pieter Breughel who contributed to many of the plans of Holland and Flanders and Joris Hoefnagel who supplied the drawings after which the cityscapes were engraved by Simon Novellanus. It was mostly published in Latin, being aimed at an educated urban aristocracy, so the present French edition is an uncommon find. The Civitates was an enormous undertaking at the time so it is not surprising that it was published over a period from 1572-1598 with a gap of twenty years until the sixth volume was added in 1618. Koeman Page 10.
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